HAMILTON — Hamilton Mayor John Bencivengo is the target of a federal investigation into possible corruption charges related to his role as an elected official, according to two sources familiar with the probe.

Bencivengo was scheduled to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Mary L. Cooper in Trenton this morning, but the hearing was abruptly postponed and no new date has been set, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the case.

The sources said the investigation involves allegations of corruption in Bencivengo's role as mayor, but declined to provide more specific details. Bencivengo has not been charged with any crime.

At his Grandville condo this afternoon, Bencivengo refused comment and referred all questions to his lawyer, Jerome Ballarotto.

"I'm not going to say anything," Bencivengo said.

Ballarotto would not comment on whether Bencivengo was under federal investigation. He said Bencivengo had not resigned as mayor, and had no plans to do so.

"The business of running the township is proceeding and John is continuing to do the job he's always done, which is stellar," Ballarotto said. "The township is still in good hands."

Ballarotto also served as the attorney for former Toms River Superintendent Michael J. Ritacco, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to mail fraud and conspiracy to impede and impair the Internal Revenue Service.

Bencivengo, 58, was sworn in to his second term as Hamilton mayor in January after easily winning reelection in November. He defeated incumbent Mayor Glen Gilmore in 2007 in a narrow victory for his first term, which also ushered in four years of Republican rule in the township with an all GOP council.

Bencivengo makes $98,000 a year as a full-time mayor. Before he won election in 2007, Bencivengo was the Hamilton Township Republican Party chairman. He had also served from 1996 to 2004 as the executive director of the Hamilton Partnership, a private group of business leaders concerned with economic growth.

He has lived in Hamilton for nearly 40 years and has owned small businesses in the township. In a campaign biography in 2007, he listed his education as St. Anthony Catholic High School, Mercer County Community College, Rutgers School for Real Estate Appraisal, Nelson School for Real Estate, and Oklahoma University Program for Economic Development.